Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder by Alice Knightsky
Chapter 113 Beta Damian and the Luna Queen
“Alpha! What do you mean? She managed to escape? Did you really mean that-”
As soon as Talon confirmed that we were alone in my room, he blurted his questions at me.
I realized just how close the rest of the pack members were to Rosalie. Why I didn’t listen to them while they talked to me about her in the past was beyond me.
However, Talon was hesitant to ask me the question directly. I knew that he was worried about being too hopeful and getting disappointing news. I could understand that. So, I told him, “Yes, she’s alive.”
He let out the breath he’d been holding and asked me, “Do you mind me sitting down?”
I gestured for him to take the couch as I leaned back in my chair.
After he took his seat, he asked, “She’s in the Denali Islands?”
I nodded again, knowing what his next question would be.
“So why didn’t you bring her back?” he asked, as expected.
I answered bitterly, “Because I f’cked up.”
He was quiet. I rarely needed to explain anything or admit my mistakes to him. He was probably not used to my blunt answer.
Talon thought for a moment and asked, “Anything to do with Soren?”
“That b’stard tricked her.”
Talon was immediately nervous. “Shall we send men to the island to rescue her then?”
“No, not now.” I stopped him. “Believe me, I want to get her back as soon as I possibly can, but she is safe at this moment.”
Soren wouldn’t let anything happen to her now that he knew he could use her as leverage against me. If anything, he would protect her for as long as I was a threat to him.
Talon seemed a little confused, but I knew my Beta couldn’t doubt me if I told him Rosalie was safe. He was concerned, though. “Alpha, are you okay? Did anything happen between you two?”
I shook my head. “That’s not important right now. I need to understand how Rosalie was able to fake her death and get away.”
That wasn’t something I would ever ask her, and even if I did, I doubt she would have ever told me. Talon’s focus switched back to the things I wanted him to concentrate on. “You mean someone here helped her?”
“Help or not, I can’t say, but if she was able to get to the islands, she couldn’t have done that all alone.”
Talon took a few seconds to sort through his thoughts and came to the conclusion, “If Rosalie was able to get out, the biggest suspects are Romero and Madalynn.”
I nodded, “Yes, but I don’t think Rosalie would ever accept Romero’s help knowing what he wanted from her. And I don’t think Madalynn has the kind heart to go through all the trouble just to help Rosalie.”
Talon shook his head. “You’re right. I also overheard Madalynn talking to her maid once. She was very certain and happy that Rosalie had died. We just don’t know exactly what role she played in the whole thing.”
I felt my blood boiling when I heard Rosalie’s name and the word “died” in the same sentence.
I gritted my teeth. “I need to know exactly what Madalynn did. Also, there’s one more person from the islands we can’t overlook.”
“Romero’s Beta Damian?”
“Yes. Have you found out more about him since I asked?”
Talon nodded. “Yes. We found Damian has been very active, but I’m not sure how it may be related to Rosalie, at least from the surface.”
“Okay,” I acknowledged. “Go on.”
“He has been friendly with James for one, and two, he is rumored to have…” Talon seemed to be searching for the right terms to describe what he wanted to say, “befriended quite a few maids.”
If Damian simply f*ck around, I knew Talon wouldn’t bring this up to me. He continued, “I interacted with Damian in the past, and I didn’t think he was the type who constantly needed attention from women.”
“Your point?” I asked.
He was a little hesitant. However, that didn’t delay his response too much. “I don’t know whether this is useful information or not, but one of the maids serves the Luna Queen.”
That was something new.
The Luna Queen, James’s mate.
Even though James was my cousin, I hadn’t interacted with the Luna Queen often- not that I interacted with any women often, but she was different.
As far as I remembered, she was a gentle and graceful woman. However, ever since she found out she couldn’t bear a child, she rarely showed herself in public any more. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a conversation with her.
She had no interest in politics, power, or even war. It was as if her heart had died many years ago. I couldn’t think of any reason why Damian would want to approach the Luna Queen.
I frowned. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
Talon agreed. “I’ll keep an eye out. If things change, I’ll let you know.”
I nodded.
Talon focused back on our original conversation. “Regarding the investigation, though, I’ll start with Samuel and Vicky to get a detailed report of exactly what happened that night. They were the first ones to notice Rosalie was gone.”
I had been thinking through that heartbreaking night over and over these few days, and I had some ideas. “No,” I told.
“Alpha, you already have a clue? Want to share?”
I looked him in the eye, “Start with the guard who reported seeing her at the cliff.”
He pondered for a second and seemingly had come up with his action plan. “Yes, Alpha!”
As he got up to leave the room; I called him back. “Talon, I’m not done yet.”
He was curious. “Anything else?”
“Just now, you only mentioned regrouping with Samuel and Vicky. Where’s Georgia? Did she go back to the pack?”
Talon hesitated and reported, “No, she didn’t go back to the pack like she said she would.” “What?” I asked with an irritated tone. “You didn’t want to tell me that?”
“Alpha, I was planning to let you know once you get some time to rest. There isn’t anything we need to do at this moment.”
“Then where did she go?”
“She went to the northern villages with Blake-” Then Talon realized that I had no idea who Blake was, so he explained. “Blake was one of the villagers from the northern border. By the time we found out she was gone, it was too late for me to send men after her.”
“Beta,” I tried to control myself from roaring at him, “great job watching an eighteen-year-old.” I knew my tone was sarcastic, but it was better I did that than lose my temper.
Talon didn’t argue. I could tell that he was upset with himself too, way more upset than I expected. I rarely saw my Beta act this way, and immediately horrible scenarios came to my mind regarding Georgia.
“What happened to her? Talon!”
He snapped out from his thoughts, and explained, “She is safe! She sent a letter letting us know she was safe.” Taking a deep breath, he released it. He looked at me apologetically. “Sorry, Alpha!”
“Then why the f*ck didn’t you say it the first time?” I spouted, as I watched him clench his fists.
I raised a brow. Talon seemed a bit off today. It was rare.
Seeing him this way, my anger dissipated. He had a lot on his plate, backing me up when I needed him most, and honestly no one could’ve done a better job than him.
I softened my tone. “You’ve done your best. If Georgia was able to sneak out without you knowing, she should be able to protect herself.”
Talon was surprised at my comment. I wasn’t sure whether he was surprised by my calm tone towards him or by my comments towards Georgia.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. I actually could understand Georgia and could put myself in her shoes if needed, just like I could foresee what Soren would do. After all, the three of us were the closest relatives we had left in this world, and some traits we shared were carved in our blood.
I asked another question, “Did she say why she went there?”
“She mentioned that she went to look for someone, but she didn’t accomplish finding that person. However, she found something else. I believe her initial goal was Soren. She didn’t explain the new information she discovered though. However, I just had a guess.”
“Go ahead,” I nodded.
“A while back, Georgia showed me a book. She tried to tell me that the woman in the book looked like Rosalie. Georgia isn’t the type that easily gives up on something when she has a firm belief, and I’m not aware of any of her other new interests lately. So I wonder whether she found something related to Rosalie.”
Rosalie… the mention of her name made my heart ache, but at the same time, knowing that she was out there, still alive, and I would get her back sooner or later, made any suffering worthy.
I owed her. However, I reminded myself to stay focused.
“Okay, how’s everyone else doing?”
“Overall, well. Vicky has been helping to arrange the displaced citizens and allocate the supplies like before. Estrella arrived back at the pack. Rex is holding up strong back in Drogomor. So far, there’s nothing concerning.”
“Very well. One last thing,” I got up from my seat.
“Of course, sir.”
“I don’t care how you do it, I do not want to see Madalynn until our investigation is over.” He didn’t immediately respond to my request.
“Any problem?” I arched my brow.
My Beta’s brow was furrowed. He asked, “You want to hear my honest opinion?”
I thought for a second and gave him a flat answer. “No, I don’t.”
“Alpha,” Talon’s expression was… priceless. “Ethan, that wasn’t very kind.”
I shrugged, “As you can see, I need to rest and get better.”
“Okay, then please tell me that I won’t need to hear about the wedding preparations from her any more?”
“Talon,” I stared at him and snarled through my teeth, “Why not? If she wants a wedding, she gets a wedding.”